Mixing-stirring cap for nail polish bottles and the like



o. DEL PONTE 3,115,664

MIXING-STIRRING CAP FOR NAIL POLISH BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Dec. 31, 1963 -Filed' March 20 1962 INVENTOR. 0727.40 .1554 p0?! United States Patent 3,115,664 IiIlXlNG-STIRRFNG CAP FOR NAIL PGLISH BOTTLE AND THE LIKE Otello Del Polite, Via Plino 16, Milan, Ktaiy, assignor to Giovanni Re, Milan, Italy Filed Mar. 21 1962, Ser. No. 181,133 Claims priority, appiication Italy Mar. 23, 1961 1 Claim. (61. -510) The present invention relates to a mixing-stirring cap to be associated with bottles containing nail polish or lacquer for fingernails or the like.

It is known that certain nail polishes, as those of the nacreous or mother-of-pearl type, contain pigments in suspension which have a marked tendency to become deposited on the bottom of the bottle. It is known that if measures are not taken for effective stirring or mixing before use, said pigments will not be included in the deposit of the lacquer on the fingernails nor will they contribute to the nacreous or mother-of-pearl effect. There have already been proposed stirring or agitating means, in the form of small metal balls introduced into the liquid mass, which, as a result of manual agitation of the bottle, are intended to produce a certain (however rather limited) diffusion of the pigment in the mass of colouring liquid.

An object of the present invention is to transform such inadequate stirring into a technically complete process which will produce homogeneous mixing of all the mass of colouring liquid. Another object is to provide a cap which, besides providing the necessary sealing closure of a bottle for such liquids, also incorporates means for controlling the stirring. Another object is to provide a cap equipped with agitation means, which cap does not require the use of an enlarged-neck bottle for the introduction of the stirring means.

These objects are attained by a mixing-stirring cap for bottles of fingernail polishes or lacquers which comprises at least a cap member suitable for being coupled to the neck of a bottle and containing a freely rotatable cylindrical member having axial passage therethrough formed with engagement means for radial engagement with a helical rod which is slidably guided in said axial passage, said cylindrical member carrying at its lower end plug means with which a rod formed with fins of flexible material, is in axial rotational engagement.

To aid in the understanding of the invention a description of two embodiments thereof will now be given With reference to the accompanying drawing which is for illustrative purposes only. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows an exploded, partially axially sectioned view of the several pieces forming the cap, according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 shows an exploded, partially axially sectioned view of the several pieces of the device, in a second embodiment thereof;

FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal crosssection of the device of FIG. 2, assembled and associated with a bottle.

With reference to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the stirring cap comprises a helical screw rod 1 and a cylinderical member 3 with a passage 3a within which rod 1 is slidably guided. A sleeve 2 having a pressed fit in the upper end of passage 3a, or the top of member 3 provides a shaped passage for the rod, which passage completely conforms to the prismatic cross section of rod 1.

Thus the helical screw of rod 1 forces the member 3 to rotate when screw 1 is moved up and down. A handle (not shown) is secured to the top end of screw 1 which projects upwards from below sleeve 2. At the bottom of the cylindrical member 3 there is a threaded portion 4-, and at the center thereof there is a radial flange or 3,115,664 Ce Patent-ed Dec. 31, 1963 collar 5. Reference numeral 6 indicates the ball bearing which, when assembly is completed, will enter seat 7 of a cap member 8. Within cap member 8 there are provided a seat 10 s'lidably receiving the cylindrical member 3, and a seat 11 wherein the rim of the neck of the bottle (not shown in the figure) is seated. At its lower end, the cap member 8 is formed with a female thread 9 adapted to be screwed on to the neck of a containing bottle (which as already stated is not shown in the figure).

Against the seat 10 of cap member 8- there rests the top of an annular abutment 12 of a sleeve plug 13 which is formed on its inside with a female thread 14 adapted to be screwed on the male thread 4 of the cylindrical member 3.

The sleeve plug 13 is provided on its outside with frontal teeth 15 engaging with frontal teeth 16 of the small rotatable body 17. A rod 13 is secured to body 17 and provided at its lower end with fins 19 of very flexible material which are pivotally mounted thereon, as at 1%, so that the fins 19 can be folded to axial positions to permit entry into a bottle. It will be apparent that the cylindrical member 3 will be able to rotate but not to move axially so that the raising and lowering of rod 1 will cause fins 19 to rotate inside the bottle.

In FIGURES 2 and 3 there is illustrated a mixing-stirring cap according to a second embodiment, and in which the cap is further provided with brushing means. It has .a helical screw rod 20 provided at its upper end with an operating knob 21. The rod 21} extends slidably into an inner member 22, which may have a cylindrical shape or any shape providing at least a portion of the cross section thereof is circular, through a shaped aperture 22a in the top of said member 22. A cap washer 20a is rigidly seated in the top of a cap member 25. The shape of the aperture 22a exactly conforms with the cross section shape of the helical rod 21). Thus, when the screw rod moves axially, member 22 is obliged to rotate. Said cylindrical member 22 is formed on its outside and near its ends with at least two bearing races 23 within which balls 24 are seated.

The assembly formed of the rod 20 and the cylindrical member 22 is inserted in cavity 26 of the cap member 25, and retained in the latter by the cap washer Zfia. At its lower end, said cap member 25 is formed with a female thread 2'7 adapted to be screwed on the male thread 33 provided on the outside of the neck of the container 34.

A rotatable plug 28, having a stem 21 depending therefrom and terminating in a brush 31B, is forcedly fitted into the lower correspondingly recessed end of the cylindrical member 22.

The upper end portion of a cylinder 31 is forced onto the outer surface of rotatable plug member 28. The cylinder 31 .and fins 32 normally projecting radially from the lower end thereof are formed of flexible material, and the lower end of cylinder 31 is formed with cutouts between the fins, as at 35, to form folding permitting joint means for the fins. Further, the hollow interior of cylinder 31 is open ended to enable stem 29 associated with brush 30 to be freely introduced and extracted. During assembly, fins 32 must be folded downwards around the folding-permitting joint defined by the lower end of cylinder 31 (as shown in broken lines in FIG. 2) to enable the mixing and stirring device to be introduced into bottle 34. When said mixing and stirring device has been introduced, fins 32, through their elasticity take up again their original radial arrangement. As is apparent on FIGS. 2 and 3, the folding-permitting joint for the fins 32 lies within the periphery of cylinder 3-1.

FIG. 3 shows the mixing-stirring cap in a longitudinal cross-section and completely assembled; at this point it Z? should be observed that, when the bottle is tightly closed, it will be impossible to cause the fins to rotate because said closure brings about a locking of annular abutment 28a of rotatable plug member 28 between the neck of the bottle and the inner shoulder 36 of cap 25.

In the first place it will therefore be necessary partially to unscrew the cap in order to release said lock, thus allowing plug member 23 itself to rotate with the cylindrical member with which it is associated.

When the cap has been thus released, a moderate pull applied to knob 21 will cause screw rod 2% to move upwardly and thus produce rotation of member 22.

Because said member '22 is rotatably coupled with plug 28 on which cylinder 31 fitted with fins 32 is forced, the rotation imparted to member 22 will evidently cause fins 32 to rotate, thus briskly stirring and mixing the bottom of the container. it screw rod 20 is now lowered by pressing down thereon, the cylindrical member 212 is still further rotated, but said rotation is in the opposite direction to that of the previous rotation and, as already seen, will be integrally transmitted to the mixing fins.

It should be observed that the liquid is in this manner briskly and effectively stirred.

When the liquid has thus been homogenized, the cap member 25 is unscrewed and released from its engagement with the neck of the bottle, thus allowing the cap to be completely extracted except for cylinder 31 fitted with fins 32.

Said cylinder 31 is released from its rforced fit on plug 28 as a result of the inner walls of the neck of the container being held firmly against the outer surface of cylinder 31 and its fins 32.

When the cap has thus been released, the painting brush 3%? can conveniently be used.

Thereafter the container will be closed by screwing home the cap member 25 on the neck of the container, whereby the forced fit between cylinder 31 and plug 28 is re-established and the cap is made ready for a further stirring action.

I claim:

A cap for a nail polish bottle comprising a cap member including a lower threaded part adapted to be screwed on the neck of a bottle, said cap member having an axial bore therein above said lower threaded part with a radially directed internal shoulder at the lower end of said bore, an inner member in said bore having an outer surface with at least a portion thereof of circular crosssection, rolling means between said portion of the outer surface of said inner member and the surface of said bore to rotatably mount saidinner member in said bore of the cap member, said inner member having an axial passage extending therethrough, a helical rod in said axial passage and projecting upwardly from the latter, said inner member having an aperture at the upper end of said axial passage closely conforming to the cross-section of said helical rod so that said inner member is rotated in response to axial displacement of said rod through said aperture, plug means disposed in said lower part of said cap member and rotatably coupled with the lower end of said inner member, said plug means being adapted to extend into the neck of the bottle on which said lower threaded part of the cap member is screwed, said plug means having a radial flange adjacent said inner member for engagement between said internal shoulder of the cap member and the rim of the bottle neck and a frustoconical portion depending from said flange, a tubular body having said frusto-conical portion of the plug means frictionally engaged in the upper end portion of the tubular body so that the latter depends from said plug means to enter the bottle through the neck of the latter, at least one foldable fin projecting radially from the lower end of said tubular body, folding-permitting joint means foldably mounting said fin on said lower end of said tubular body and being located within the peripheral cross-section of the latter to permit the fin to be bent downwardly from its normal radially projecting position for introduction through the neck of a bottle, and a stern depending from said plug means through said tubular body and carrying a brush at its lower end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,583,219 Anderson et al. May 4, 1926 2,281,094 Chambers Apr. 28, 1942 2,631,826 Wolf Mar. 17, 1953 2,711,306 Levi June 21, 1955 2,749,098 Johnson June 5, 1956 2,793,012 Wolf May 2-1, 1957 2,816,743 Kirkland Dec. 17, 1957 2,896,926 Chapman July 28, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 416,575 Italy Dec. 5, 1946 1,009,545 France Mar. 12, 1952 

